Kizuna
by Litari Kisaru
Summary: It all started with a hot-air balloon ride. A man who doesn't like to interact with others, a girl who doesn't know how to interact with others... How will they communicate with each other?
1. Chapter 1: The hot air balloons festival

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, or any songs that I will be using in this fic.

At the beginning of each chapter, I will recommend a song that I find fitting for the chapter's mood. In my opinion, a fanfic would be even better to read if you are listening to the music at the same time. All the songs will be in Japanese, because I'm a J-Pop fan and I also think that Japanese songs will fit very well, cause the characters are Japanese right (even though they are just fictional). So feel free to try listening to them if you like^^, though I can't guarantee that they will go perfectly well with the chapters' plot. Enough bla bla, now let's go on with the storyXD

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**Chapter one: The hot-air balloons festival**

Song : _Still_ by Arashi

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It was still dark. The sky was still engulfed in a thick black blanket. Hibari quickly buttoned his white shirt and draped his black jacket over his shoulders. It was always customary of him to wake up soon in the morning. However, he woke up even earlier that day, as the clock indicated 4h00 a.m., which was three hours before the time he w

as supposed to get up every day. Picking up a sheet of paper on his desk, Hibari folded it and put it in his pocket. With Hibird perched on his shoulder, the prefect walked out of his apartment, closing the door behind him.

As he reached the motorcycle which was parked in front of his house, he swiftly took out his key and plopped on the seat while starting the motor. Taking deep breaths of the morning fresh air, Hibari drove as fast as he could (without exceeding the speed limit of course, he was still the chairman of the discipline committee after all). After about thirty minutes of driving, the prefect finally arrived at his destination. Surrounded by endless green fields, the place seemed almost deserted, except for some hot-air deflated balloons lying around a group of three men. His motorcycle halted into a stop in front of the said people, two of them were in their early thirties and one seemed to be in his fifties. They greeted him warmly:

"Ah, it's our little Kyo-kun! How are you doing, little fella? "

The said prefect just grunted in response, while slapping away, swiftly and _surprisingly_ not so violently, the hands of the two younger men as they were trying to ruffle his hair. It was then that the oldest one spoke up:

"You two, let Kyoya alone, he has always come to help us when we hold the balloon festival. We have to be thankful for that."

Still not saying anything, Hibari started to mend out the balloons and helped the other three putting loads of fuel tanks inside each balloon. The three others just smiled fondly at him. Although they didn't know each other before that day, the three men have always considered Hibari as a member of their own family. They always remembered the day when they found him wandering around these fields, looking lost. They didn't know who he was or where he came from. They found out, shockingly, that the little boy didn't remember anything, not even his own identity. Even so, the boy wasn't crying or looking scared. He just asked them the permission to ride on those hot-air balloons that they were working on. They could never forget that contented smile on his face when he was inside the basket of the balloon, which was soaring up in the high sky. Touched by this boy's misfortune, the three men decided to adopt him and gave him a name: Hibari Kyoya. And now, as that little boy has gotten much older and decided to live out on his own, they couldn't help but be happy that their little "_son" _has grown up well. The three men now traveled around Japan, hosting numerous hot-air balloons festival in each city they went to. However, each time they arrived at Namimori town, Hibari would always come to help them without fail. This time wasn't an exception. After finishing helping them, the young man would always demand to be the first to ride the hot-air balloon and then left when the other workers in charge of preparing the festival came. The first visitors wouldn't come to see the balloons for another couple of hours.

However, as they were still working on the balloons, a sight of a little girl caught their eyes, especially Hibari. He immediately recognized that pineapple hairstyle and that green uniform. Unconsciously growling, the prefect stopped what he was doing and walked over to the girl, while the other three watched him curiously. He stopped in front of Chrome, towering over her while looking down at her menacingly:

"What are you doing here herbivore? As long as that herbivorous master of yours is still residing in you, I will not allow you to come here and disrupt the peace of this festival." snapped Hibari.

Chrome, for her part, was extremely surprised to see him there. She was just interested in seeing what the balloon festival was about after seeing its poster. She had never ridden in a hot-air balloon before, so she was extremely excited to see it. Chrome had even managed to get Ken and Chikusa to go with her. Unfortunately, Ken suddenly got a bad stomach ache (probably due to the twenty bags of chips that he ate the night before), while Chikusa caught a flu at the last minute. Although the festival would start at eight o'clock according to the poster, Chrome was so excited that she woke up really early in order to go to the festival, since it was situated in the outskirts of Namimori.

"Clang", the sound of metal clashing with metal brought her back to reality. In front of her was an annoyed and slightly pissed face of the volatile prefect, Hibari Kyoya, who was ready to strike her with his plain-looking but dangerous tonfas. Chrome found herself stuttering. After some more seconds, she finally managed to stop her stuttering and answered in an extremely quiet voice that if not for his extreme hearing capability; Hibari wouldn't be able to make out what she said:

"I... am only here to watch the hot-air balloons..."

"The festival won't start until eight, so now get out of here and come back later." concluded Hibari rudely.

"My my, Kyo, you shouldn't be so rude to a girl. We didn't teach you to be like that right?" said one of the younger men.

By now, they have walked over to where Hibari and Chrome were. After hearing of Chrome's purpose of being there, they immediately suggested that Chrome could ride on the first balloon with Hibari, since the others were not yet finished.

"There's no way I'm going to ride a hot-air balloon with that herbivorous girl. Besides, I prefer doing that alone." stated Hibari calmly.

"So you know her, and that's exactly the reason why you have to ride with her. She can't ride a balloon by herself, it's too dangerous. She won't have enough strength to pull the weights." one of the two younger men said.

"Ano... don't worry about me. Even though I don't look like it, I... I... can pull the weights by myself. I can wait till you finish another hot-air balloon..." This time, it was Chrome who spoke up. The two men looked at each other incredulously while Hibari remained silent. His family didn't know his involvement with the mafia, so they didn't imagine that this weak-looking girl could do such a task. Neither of them spoke for a little while.

"Young lady, even though you can do that, we still can't let you go alone. And Kyoya, even though you don't like hanging around with people, you have to ride it with her. She's a visitor after all." stated the oldest man calmly but firmly.

Hibari seemed annoyed and somewhat irritated. Then he sighed dejectedly and went to prepare for the ride without saying anything. The two younger men smiled, knowing that their little Kyo will never go against their uncle's words. They chuckled slightly while turning to Chrome:

"Don't mind him, he has accepted to do it now. You can wait there till we finish the preparations."

Chrome nodded, then settled down on the smooth green grass. Unconsciously, she let her eyes wandering to where Hibari was. The said prefect was engrossed in his work, his expression somewhat different from that usual aloof and indifferent attitude. Unknown to Chrome, Hibari has also been watching her from the corner of his eyes. A comfortable silence enveloped them as they were finalizing the first hot-air balloon.

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A/N: In case you might be wondering, the title of this story means "bonds" in Japanese. Sorry if Hibari is kind of OOC. I'll try my best to write the plot while keeping him in character at the same time. As for the part about his family, I find that it is necessary to put that in to explain Hibari's behaviour towards those three men. Since his past and his family were never mentioned in the manga, I felt free to use my imagination and thought up of that. Since this is my first fanfic ever, I know that there will many points that I have to work on. So reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome. I hope that you enjoy reading it ^^.


	2. Chapter 2: A dawn colored sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, or any songs that I will be using in this fic.

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**Chapter two: A dawn-colored sky**

Song: _Precious one _by KAT-TUN

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At last, after another thirty minutes of finalizing, the first hot-air balloon was ready to launch. The four men, including Hibari, finished putting the last weights in the basket, as well as some extra fuel tanks. Chrome offered to help, but the three older men just smiled and assured her that they could not let a girl doing those operations. Finally, it was time for the visitors to climb in. Without a word, Hibari swiftly hopped in the basket and started to burn the fuel. Though hesitantly, Chrome followed his actions and hopped in as well. She then turned back to the other three and bowed gratefully:

"Uhm... Thank you very much for letting me ride the first balloon." said Chrome with her quiet voice.

"No problem, young lady, it was our pleasure. And Kyo, don't forget to judge the wind's direction and follow it. Pilot it safely and be nice to this young lady." grinned the two younger men cheekily. As for the elder, he nodded approvingly and reassuringly at Hibari.

With one last bow to the three men, Chrome found herself, or rather the whole basket, being lifted off the ground. She was kind of unbalanced at first at the sudden change, but soon stabilized herself. Glancing at Hibari, she saw him staring to put out the extra bag weights in order to balance the visitors 'weight and the basket's. Seeing this, Chrome also came over and helped him with the other bags. While she was pulling them up, her hands brushed Hibari's lightly, causing some blood rushing up to her cheeks. Stealing a glance at Hibari, his expressionless face assured her that he hasn't realized it. Chrome then tried her best to ignore it and concentrated on what she was doing.

As the weights were all balanced, Hibari turned his attention towards the burner. He hasn't said anything since they got in the basket. His expression was as usual, indifferent and somewhat cold. Chrome found herself fidgeting nervously. She wasn't sure if she should say something to Hibari, fearing that he might snap if she opened her mouth. After all, it was her fault that the three other men had forced him to ride the balloon with her. Although she never got to talk to him directly, Chrome knew from Mukuro-sama and the other Vongola guardians that Hibari wasn't fond of crowds and always preferred to be alone. Nevertheless, she felt that she needed to at least apologize to him for the situation, even though she might get bitten to death later.

"I... I... want to apologize for this, Cloud m-, I mean, Hibari-san. I can summon an illusionary bird and get out of here if you want." said Chrome hesitantly, after gathering all her courage.

Hibari turned his head towards her with an unreadable expression. He let out an inaudible sigh.

"I never go back on my words, herbivore. If I promised that old man to ride with you, that's what I'll do."

Something in Chrome relaxed as she heard those words. She felt really grateful and considered herself lucky. Not only she was able to ride the hot-air balloon, she got to ride it with Hibari, the violent and dangerous prefect of Namimori, without any trouble _yet_. Her relief soon left place to her curiosity: Who were those people? They seem to be able to talk sense into Hibari, a task considered difficult or even impossible by many. Judging by her observations, they could be Hibari's family members. Although Chrome didn't know much about Hibari, she heard from her boss that he lived alone, so that meant those people only got to see Hibari at this time of year?

As many questions popped up in her head without any answer, Chrome decided to let the matter aside for now. It was then that she realized that the sky was still dark. Thanks to her previous thoughts and her nervousness caused by Hibari's presence, Chrome failed to see that the sun hasn't even risen yet. The wind became even stronger as they got higher.

Hibari still concentrated on his task of orienting the balloon. If she didn't know any better, the prefect reminded her of a prideful bird, a hawk to be exact, whose cold and calculated eyes never waver and always remained focused ahead. The temperature decreased little by little as the balloon's altitude increased. Chrome found herself shivering involuntarily and mentally berated herself for only wearing her usual Kokuyo uniform without any jacket. She began to rub her arms in an attempt to warm up. Chrome then felt something on her shoulders. Looking up, she realized that the Vongola cloud guardian has just dumped his black jacket on her.

"Uhm...thank you Hibari-san, but I think you should take it back. You might get a cold yourself. " remarked Chrome timidly, ignoring her warm cheeks.

The cloud guardian turned at her with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face. He made no move to retrieve the jacket.

"Herbivores should just worry about themselves. Keep it, I don't want that herbivorous boss of yours to nag me if you caught a cold." stated Hibari calmly.

Realizing that he wouldn't do as she suggested, Chrome pulled the jacket closer to her and enjoyed its warmth. Her blush deepened against her will. It was strange how such a normal jacket could be that warm. Moreover, even though Hibari said it in a not-so-gentle way, he did show concern for her, and she was grateful for that. Considering her past with her family, Chrome didn't think that her existence could be welcomed by others, so she didn't think that anyone would care for her. And yet, the prefect, who many didn't think as a gentle person, has shown her such simple kindness, something that she has been unconsciously yearning for a long time.

Without even realizing it, her lips formed into a small smile, something that she hasn't done for so long. She was so absorbed in her own world that Chrome failed to see Hibari looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Look up", commanded the prefect curtly.

As she complied, Chrome gasped at what she saw. The clouds that were shielding the sky earlier seemed to be pushed back. A giant orb slowly rose from the bottoms of the horizon. Everything seemed to immobilize at that moment. Numerous rays of light coming from the bright orb illuminated the sky. That majestic sight left the Vongola mist guardian standing still, without even blinking. Her eyes were glued to that sphere until it has reached the top of the sky and the surroundings became normal again. She didn't know that a dawn could be that beautiful and breath-taking.

Glancing at her left, she caught sight of Hibari and was taken aback by what she saw. The prefect, the most feared man in all Namimori town, the strongest and also most violent Vongola guardian was actually _smiling, _even though the "smile" was just a little twitch upward of his mouth. His raven hair was swaying gently in the wind. His expression was that of serenity and peace, and it told her that he felt the same way as her towards the breath-taking scene before them. Never before has she seen him looking so contented. Something in his expression made her heart throbs. Her chest suddenly fell heavy with an unknown emotion. The blood returned to her cheeks no matter how hard she tried to suppress it. This feeling was different from what she felt for Mukuro-sama or for Ken and Chikusa.

But how, she told herself. She never really talked with Hibari before, so she didn't know much about him. Furthermore, she was probably the guardian who had the less interaction with the prefect. And yet, at that moment, Chrome thought seeing another side of him aside from his bloodthirsty and cold self that no one had ever been able to see before.

"Are you done staring at me?" asked Hibari in a slightly annoyed tone.

Upon hearing his voice, Chrome immediately snapped out of her trance. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that she was staring at him. Hibari was looking down at her, looking slightly pissed, but he made no move to attack her with his tonfas.

Then, without knowing what has gotten into her, Chrome found herself looking up at him with a smile forming on her lips.

"Thank you for showing me this, Hibari-san. This sight means a lot to me."

And that was true, Chrome has never really seen a dawn before. And if she did, she wasn't able to enjoy it because of her lonely life before that accident. But now, for some reason, this majestic sight, along with the man standing next to her, has given her an insight into her life. Maybe, just maybe, she can be accepted by people other than Mukuro-sama and that she could be useful to them in some way or another.

As for Hibari, even though he didn't show it, he was actually taken aback by Chrome's smile. As far as he had seen, this girl hardly smiled in front of others, just like him in some way. He didn't even understand why he has lent her his jacket or showing her the dawn in the first place. It just seemed like the right thing to do. He immediately berated himself mentally for thinking such herbivorous thoughts. Despite this, the prefect found himself nodding slightly to the girl in front of him and thinking that maybe she wasn't just that bastard's puppet after all...

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A/N: Sorry for any grammatical mistakes that you will find. I'll try my best to improve it. Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome:)


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